Fall Releases I'm Looking Forward To

I thought today I'd share the four new releases coming up I'm most looking foreword to. These next few months are going to be very exciting. :D

The Sword of Summer: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . . (Taken from Goodreads.)

While Riordan's last batch of books, the spin-off series of Percy Jackson, were less than cool, this looks like it's going to be really awesome.

The Forever Man: W.A.R.P. #3

Riley, an orphan boy living in Victorian London, has achieved his dream of becoming a renowned magician, the Great Savano. He owes much of his success to Chevie, a seventeen-year-old FBI agent who traveled from the future in a time pod and helped him defeat his murderous master, Albert Garrick. But it is difficult for Riley to enjoy his new life, for he has always believed in his heart of hearts that Garrick will someday, somehow, return to seek vengeance.

Chevie has assured Riley on numerous occasions that Garrick was sucked into a temporal wormhole, never to emerge. The full nature of the wormhole has never been understood, however, and just as a human body will reject an unsuitable transplant, the wormhole eventually spat him out. By the time Garrick makes it back to Victorian London, he has been planning his revenge on Riley for half a century. But even the best-laid plans can go awry, and when the assassin decides to include Chevie in his retaliation, the three are tossed once more into the wormhole with no idea where-or when-they will end up. (Taken from Goodreads.)

I have absolutely loved Colfer's books, especially his WARP series, and cannot wait to crack open the pages of book 3. Especially since it looks like he's bringing back one of the best villains ever.

The Speed of Darkness: Chronoptika #4

I haven't actually read the 2nd and 3rd book in this series (because my library doesn't have them), so I haven't even read the description of this one. The first book turned out to be breathtaking, and so I, in planning to read the next two, found out that the fourth was due to be released early 2016.

Mission Hurricane: The 39 Clues: Doublecrossed

Last book of the 39 Clues. Possibly the very last that will ever come out. I have really enjoyed these books and will be very sad to see them end. But I suppose you can only stretch a series so far...

What new releases are you looking forward to? Any suggestions for me?

Have a lovely afternoon,

~The Scribbler in the Attic

Infinity Dreams Award

Good morning, everyone! I've been awarded by Megan over at Montana Farm Girl for the Infinity Dreams award. Thanks, Megan!


Rules:

Thank and link to the blogger who tagged you

Answer the 11 questions

Nominate several bloggers and ask them 11 questions

Megan's questions:

- Favorite summer activity? 
Hm... I'd have to say soccer or Frisbee or swimming. Don't make me narrow it down more than that. ;)

- What is your favorite activity / sport for any time of the year?
Haha, soccer and Frisbee again. I love sports in general.

- How many animals do you own?
Our family owns two dogs, a cow and soon some puppies (one of our dogs is pregnant :D .)

- How many siblings do you have?
Five. Two brothers and three sisters.

- What is your favorite color?
Oh dear. I guess I'm not very decisive today, because I'd have to say blue, green or black. And I really love burgundy/coffee hues. I hate to just choose one.

- What is your favorite kind of animal?
Panda bear. Always has been. :) I love large cats like panthers and lynx's, too, though. 

- Favorite season?
Autumn.

- Favorite books?
That's a very hard question to answer! I'd have to say The Ascendance Trilogy (It. Was. Amazing.), Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Fablehaven books, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Swamp Rat, and Around the World in Eighty Days. 

- Favorite movies?
Another hard one! Let's see... The Return of the King, the Bourne movies, Pirates of the Caribbean, any Hitchcock film, The Proposal, and Tv shows like Psych, Merlin, Heroes and Monk.

- What do you do in your free time?
Read, write, make music videos, create disasters, play pranks, and go on ATV rides. I also watch a lot of movies. :)

- What is your dream career?
Dream career is being a published writer. It's probably been that since I was ten or so. ;D

Alright, I nominate:
Johanna at Writers Who Need To Talk To Other Writers
Elsie at Keep Calm and Beethoven On
Heather at Sometimes I'm a Story


And here are my questions:

-What is the busiest day of your life that you can remember?
-Where is the farthest you have ever been from home?
-Do you have a dream so big you might call it an "Infinity Dream"?
-Are you a polka-dots or stripes kind of person?
-If you could change your entire name, what name would you choose?
-What is the closest you have ever come to a near-death experience?
-What is your favorite song?
-What is your favorite food?
-How long can you hold your breath?
-If you could, would your rather be an Olympic swimmer or gymnast?
-What is your dream vacation?

Well, thank for reading, y'all! Alons-y!
~Willa

The Writing Lifestyle

I've found myself realizing more and more lately that I don't think like a normal person anymore.

Writing has started shaping my entire life. It's been heading that direction since I was as young as ten, but I guess I didn't know it until now. Everything I do in my day-to-day lifestyle revolves around my writing.

I'm not thinking ahead to college because all I picture myself doing in a few years is writing. How I get through doing schoolwork is thinking about how I can use this knowledge for my writing. Every morning I wake up, I wonder how much writing I'm going to get done. When my mom asks me what I'm going to do today, I have to stop and think of something besides writing I had been planning to do. It's actually a little scary to think about how unconsciously writing controls my life. I don't even really have the normal "teenage girl" thoughts of something like who I'm going to marry or what kind of house I want to live in when I get older. All I can think is, Oh, look, it's a new day. Guess I'm gonna write.

Is this unhealthy? It's either passion or a mental disorder. Probably both. Do you guys ever feel this way?

Everything around me is fuel for the writing fire. Literally almost every thought that crosses my mind about something usually turns into "how can I use this in a story?" Recently, I was playing soccer with some friends, and accidentally got a black eye from someone's elbow in the wrong place at the wrong time. And, seriously, I was kind of happy, because now I knew how to describe the pain of being hit extremely hard in the face. Great, right?

But something I have to remind myself every single day so I don't get sidetracked is to follow up the question of "How can I use this in my story?" with "And how will this glorify God?" 

I want that question to fuel me with as much passion as my writing. And it's hard. Because I've become so ingrained with the writing mindset, it's hard to fit anything else into my head with it. But it's a very necessary thought. It's an important thought. It is THE most important thought, actually. 

As I've realized how much my life revolves around my writing, I've realized how much more I need it to revolve around that question. How can I glorify God? Because that has to come before everything else. And more than anything it has to come before my writing.

I'm not sure where this post was heading. Hopefully my ramblings made at least a little sense.

How has writing shaped your life? Do you ever have to take a step back and reevaluate?

Colossians 3:23 "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."

Have a lovely day!
~The Scribbler in the Attic

A Momentousness of Books

Something momentous has happened. Something amazing. Something so cool I just had to share it with you guys.

*drum roll please......* 

I own over 100 books!!!

Me, myself and I, personally own over 100 titles--obviously my favorites, plus a few random ones I happened to pick up on the way. :)

I never set a goal or anything like that for myself. I've tried to buy as many as I can, rather than get them from library, since I may end up wanting re-read or flip through them again. (And it's especially hard to do that with library books if the library you happen to go to is an hour and a half away. Heh.) Confession time, though... I haven't actually read all of them. Out of 100, I've maybe read 87. Which isn't bad, and I am working on it. :)

But anyways, I was just so excited I thought I'd write up a post about it. I'm completely out of shelf space, which is quite an awesome feeling... While I've got you, though, I apologize for my rather sudden hiatus there for a few months. It's been a really crazy time around here. A lot of traveling and a lot of bruises from a lot of soccer games. Also watermelon. A lot of watermelon. (But that's always a good thing. :D )

Do you guys have a book collection? How big has it gotten? Any suggestions for me? Which books are your favorites? Which do you wish you had bought instead of getting them from the library?

Ecstatically,
~The Scribbler in the Attic 

Death For A Single Soul || Passion Week

So, with this being Passion Week and Easter Sunday coming up, I've been thinking a lot about Christ's death, and along with that, all of the allegories in literature that have depicted this. Almost all stories have this element, and in fact, I can't think of many books I've read that don't.

But Aslan's death from the Chronicles of Narnia has been on my mind the most. I had an interesting train of thought about it this evening, and thought I would share, as I am currently plum out of blog post ideas.

We read in the Bible how Jesus came to earth, lived a painful and sorrowful life as a man, that one day he would be given up to be sacrificed for our sins. We hear all the time how Christ died to save "all sinners". But something I observed about Aslan's death in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: He didn't die to save all the creatures of Narnia. At the time they didn't need saving. The only one who had sinned, the only one who had betrayed Aslan, was Edmund. And yet, Aslan died. We all know how the story ends: Aslan comes back to life. But when he traded his life for Edmund's, it gave the appearance of defeat, of surrender, of basically handing the victory over to the White Witch, all for the sake of one boy. One traitor.

And it reminded me all over again, that it would have been exactly like that with Jesus had I been the only one He needed to save. Jesus would have lived, suffered, been crucified and gone through hell even if it was only for single soul. And I think that fact, that knowledge, is one of the most beautiful things about the saving grace of God and His sacrifice for us. He loves us so much, he was willing not to just die for all of us, but for each and every one of us individually.

So, yes. Those are just some thoughts that have been floating around my head lately. Thanks for reading. :)

How has your Passion Week been? 

Sincerely,

~The Scribbler in the Attic

Valentine Pictures From Me To You

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! Hope you had a wonderful holiday. :) I had chocolate and raspberry covered homemade donuts and heart-shaped bacon for breakfast, ice cream for lunch, and chocolate covered strawberries for desert after dinner. So, yeah, my Valentine's Day was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. :D

I'd been meaning to take some holiday-themed pictures to post today, but couldn't really decide what to do, until the inspiration hit me this afternoon. Forgoing the (extremely inconvenient) self-timer on my Nikon, I got my little brother, Seth, to take these pictures. 

#teenagetroubles

Scorching sophistication.

NERD ALERT!

Can you smell the sarcasm?

I was in a super goofy mood today, if you couldn't tell. ;)

Our family has this crazy tradition of sending Valentine cards to all our neighbors, so, after our incredible breakfast this morning, we sat around and made Pooh and Captain America Valentine's for our friends. We always have a great time deciding who should get the "Ishy Squishy Hugs and Stuff" or the "I Want YOU To Have a Happy Valentine's Day" cards.

How did you celebrate? Do you have any Valentine traditions?

Love,

~The Scribbler in the Attic

Thoughts in Caramel

     Having you ever felt so crammed full of things you need to do, of schedules and projects to work on, that your thoughts literally feel like they're racing a hundred-miles-per-hour at the same time it feels like they're stuck in glue, pinging in slow-motion, so sluggish you can barely even put two words together in your head?

     Huuuge run on sentence, I know. I'm sorry... 

     But, that's what tonight is like for me. And last night. And the night before. And every moment in between.

     My brain feels like it could explode at any second. Like all of my thoughts are stuck together with caramel. I have too many things I should be doing, too many things I need to be doing, but they can't all happen at once.

     This week has been a season of letting go for me. Between juggling school, friends, writing, video work, blogging, research, and a (sort of) job, there's just too much to handle with only two hands and one brain. I've had to prioritize. I've had to organize (weird, right? I didn't think I had it in me...). And I've had to let go of things I know are less important. Things that will get in the way of my real dreams and my real goals. Goals that I know I can accomplish and not just daydream about. 

     Maybe, one day, I can come back to them. Maybe, one day, they'll be my important goals. Maybe, one day, those dreams will come true. 

     I never thought I'd have to prioritize my dreams... It just sounds kind of wrong, doesn't it?

     But, some of these goals, some of them I've had to tell myself will never happen. That it really was just a dream, and there are better dreams for me to spend my time on. That's just part of growing, I suppose.

     I've never been a "deep" blogger. Though I spend a lot of time writing and am rather a sensitive soul, I usually stink at conveying my emotions and thoughts. I guess I deal better with describing the flashing of rapiers during a pirate duel that I do describing real thoughts and feelings.

     So, I don't know why I decided to post this today. I just felt like sharing. :)

     Have any of you all ever experienced this?

Thanks for reading,
~The Scribbler in the Attic

2014 Top Ten Book Recommendations

I read a lot of books this last year, and thought I'd share my top ten favorites:

Airman by Eoin Colfer

A very thrilling, fun and well written historical fiction. It takes place during the era where learning to build the first flying aircraft was a race and everyone was in it to win. 

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forrester

I did a review of this book back in March. Everything about it was so incredibly charming, and it was original and classic at the same time, if a little predictable. :)

(Ascendance Trilogy) The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielson

The. Best. Book. I. Have. Ever. Read. Ever. (Not including the Bible. ;D) Ah, where to even begin? You'll just have to look it up and read it. ;)

(Relic Master) The Dark City by Catherine Fisher

The characters in this one are just so well done and unique. It's really what sold the rest of the series for me. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes the combination of sci-fi and fantasy and talking cats.

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Have you ever read one of those books that just makes you... happy? This was that kind of book for me. This is one of the greatest classics of all time, if you ask me. 

(Fablehaven Series) Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull

This is my favorite book out of the whole series. I recommend the whole Fablehaven series, but this was the book that stood out to me the most. 

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

A beautiful and well done story of a girl who moves from the beaches of the Caribbean to the outbacks of America. I really enjoyed this, and I'm not usually one for historical novels. 

The 39 Clues Series by... A Lot of People

The premise is just so out-there, there is no way you want enjoy this as much as I did. Crazy action and adventure, crazy plot, and most of all, completely crack-pot characters. It was awesome!

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

I really enjoyed this book which was basically just one long play on words. It rocked. :D 

The Swamp Rat by Carter Crocker

Ahh! So good! I loved this book, and I honestly have no idea why. It's told from the perspective of animals living in a swamp. I've never been one for stories told by animals (besides Redwall, of course), but this is was such a delightful and laid-back read. 

How many books did you read this last year? I would love recommendations! What were your favorites? Have you read any of these?

Over and Out,
~The Scribbler in the Attic

Photography Friday // 2014 Favorites

As a final ado to this incredible year, 2014, I've put together my favorite pictures. Hope you guys enjoy! And Happy New Year!

"Hope smiles form the threshold of the year to come, whispering, 'It will be happier.'" 

~Alfred Lord Tennyson

This is the last time I'll be posting in 2014. A very fond goodbye to all of you until the New Year. :)
~The Scribbler in the Attic

Monday Musings \\ Conclusions&Christmas&Coming Agains

Hello, everyone!

Well, my "treasure hunting" month is officially over for this blog. I had a lot of fun doing the various posts. Even though I didn't have the time to do all the ones I wanted, I still had a great time sharing my NaNoWriMo aspirations with you all.

Thank you for all your support! Stay tuned this next month for Christmas photography shoots. :) I don't believe I'll be able to get together This Name and Moment's next segment until the new year. (Anyone else get a shiver when they say 'new year'? ;D)

Hope you all have a great Monday!

~The Scribbler in the Attic

(P.s. I think I'll keep my map header up for a while. I like it a lot. :D :D :D )

Verbal Victory Dance!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Nun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuuuuuuuuuuuuh!!!!!!!!!

Just thought I'd tell y'all that I FINISHED MY NANOWRIMO BOOK AND I'M NOT EXCITED AT ALL.

(I suffer from an extreme case of being sarcastic when I am really excited. Just fyi.)

Thank you all so much for your support! To those of you doing National Novel Writing Month, how is it going? I really hope you've enjoyed this month as much as I have!

Love,
~The Scribbler in the Attic

Snapshot Sunday // Treasure Hunting Child Wonders

I have to go with "Snapshot Sunday" in place of Photography Friday due to the fact that I was too sick Friday to post. And just when you thought I'd run out of cheesy alliterations for my post titles, right? ;D
Tired of taking selfies, I decided to ask my little siblings Elsie and Josiah if I could set up a treasure hunt for them and take pictures while they solved it. They were so excited to get to do this. I picked out a few (...relatively speaking...) of my favorites to share with you guys. Enjoy!

Opening the first clue...

Setting off together to follow the map... 

Tackling the very quickly put together obstacle course.

Josiah finding the second piece of the map.

Breaking the seal.

Finding the second clue.

Josiah got burrs stuck in his hair. So I acted quickly--and took a picture.

Josiah finding the final piece of the map...

Hurrying towards their final destination.

The treasure at last!

Triumphantly returning home with their treasure.

"If love is the treasure, laughter is the key." ~Yakov Smirnoff 

If you think my siblings are as adorable as I do, leave a comment. :)
~The Scribbler in the Attic